Change Your Perfectionist Mindset With These 8 Tips (2 of 5)

2. Focus on these three percentages: 80/20/70

We all obviously want to do the best job possible, but no outcome will ever come out 100% perfect no matter how hard we try. But complete perfection should not be the goal anyway; we should strive to reach the objective, and all we really need is to set the goal at 70%. Once we complete the task with this number in mind, we can go back and fine tune things. 

Here is a rule to live by: 80/20. What this means is, if you put in 20% of your efforts, you will achieve 80% results. Any more than this will only have a negligible effect. But, again, you can always go back later and make any necessary improvements. 

3. Appreciate the little victories

Perfectionists also tend to be pessimistic about things. However, it is important to embrace all of the good things that happen during the course of the day, even if they don’t seem all that important. Why? Focusing on the positives will change your outlook and it detracts from the negatives. In fact, studies have found that when we accomplish something, we feel more motivated to repeat the process. So how can you put the power of positive thinking into practice? You could, for example, celebrate the fact that you had breakfast this morning rather than skipping out as you often do. Or you met a new hire who seems interesting and will be a great addition to the team.